Faith on Trial on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and on IowaCatholicRadio.com, examines the influence of law and society on Christianity and people of faith. "Like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Middle school sexual expressions poster under review

While middle school tends to be a
time of discovery, one Kansas school took that discovery too far. Mark Ellis,
the father of a student at Hocker Grove Middle School in Shawnee, was surprised
to learn of a poster in his daughter's class that covered a variety of sexual
acts.

"It upsets me," said Ellis. "You know this had to pass through
enough hands that someone should have said, 'Wait a minute, these are
13-year-old kids, we do not need to be this in-depth with this sexual education
type of program,'" he continued.

After this story hit the news, the
Shawnee Mission School District Superintendent, Dr. Jim Hinson, told parents
that the poster and curriculum it belonged to were placed under review. Another
district official stated that the poster is part of curriculum that aligns with
national standards and is in use by the rest of the district.

Pacific Justice Institute now represents Mr. Ellis in this matter. PJI sent a
letter to the district requesting—under state and federal law—to allow him to
review the curriculum and corresponding materials.

"We are here to protect the rights of both students and parents,"
said Brad Dacus, President of PJI and a frequent guest on Faith On Trial.
"When it comes to sexuality, we can't control what kids talk about at
school. But as parents we can control what the school teaches our children from
an authoritative position. This material was both inappropriate and
offensive."

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Faith on Trial is where we examine the influence of law and society on Christianity. Here we will look at those cases and events that impinge on the rights of Christians to fully practice their faith. Join us every Tuesday morning at 9 or listen to our re-broadcast Tuesday evening at 9 (Central). The program can be heard on IowaCatholic Radio: 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming on iowacatholicradio.com. Host is Attorney and Deacon Mike Manno.